History of the oldest Vernacular Windows

A short survey on the building history of the window Ancient linguistic expressions testify an astonishing variety of lighting openings, which may be regarded as predecessors or early examples of the window. In classical Greek no less than 4 synonyms are known: phostér, phanóptes, phanerós, thyris; in our dialects we find the most striking parallels: Liacht'n, Liachtloch. The diminutive thyris proves, that light-hole-fasteners could be constructed like doors, i. e. with pivots like temple gates or the stony top-hung-windows of the church at Torcello near Venedig.
These synonyms prove, that it was tried to solve the difficult problem of a transparent wall lock with different, at times rather primitive expedients.
A stony proof for a materially not closer identified lighting system have remained with the fragments from the Egasterion (workshop) pf Phidias in Olimpia, which was designed an an interior room model of the cella of the temple of Zeus, in order to gat an idea of the spatial effect of the huge statue of the god. These fragments from around 500 B. C. preserve exactly cut and elaborated stones with window casing, unfortunately the wooden parts have not remained.
For centuries the simple slinding hatch-lock window with sleeve and panel remained the „standard model" for lighting openings in block buildings. In the „luxury version" a frame with beef- or pigbladder was udes, in the simple version inserted in nailed ledges, in later, more elaborated versions in a wall take-out. This sliding window principle has occasionally remained in use for farmhouses until late in the 17th century. The further development of teh window conseuqnetly follows the technical revolution in the production of glass. The bull's eye or pane glas in a lead framing, comprised to huge formates in church interiors, has also revolutionized the baroque farmhouse window. The later quare flat glass has not even retained the term glass pane, but also the iron wind stiffs and the division with leaden bars. The window grate of the block building has been reduced in many regions to a shortened pair of door columns.
Only with the introduction of massive building the window grate has come into being, which is partially walled into the mural structure like a bearing support. The opening central support instead of a walled centre piece and the wooden bars instead of the leaden bars has only been put through around 1850, the putty glazing instead of the inserted glasswork only around 1920. The case window is newly installed in old farmhouses mostly after 1930.
In the case of the caretaking of historical farmhouses especially the fight about the preservation or the reconstruction of historical windows is rather fierce, if not without hope. The variety of five centuries in the history of winmdows is practically reduced to one unique type, adapted to the norms and claims of today. The former variety of historical constructions can only be admired in open air museums nowadays.